University Of Bremen Honours Professor As The “University Teacher Of The Year”
Antje Boetius is “University Teacher of the Year”. With the prize, which is awarded by the German University Association (DHV), the marine researcher from the University of Bremen is honored as an “advocate of the seas and outstanding science communicator”. The award is endowed with 10,000 euros.
The German University Association (DHV) recognizes Professor Antje Boetius as an excellent, award-winning scientist who, with broad field research, sheds light on the effects of climate change on the oceans and the diversity of life in the deep sea. Thanks to her research, Boetius is “an advocate for the seas”, who is pushing for close international cooperation and is committed to promoting future-proof climate, nature and environmental protection.
Commitment increases the reputation of the university teaching profession
As an outstanding science communicator, she has impressively succeeded in conveying her vital findings to a wide audience in a wide variety of media formats in an impressive way. The German Association of Universities is convinced that her exemplary commitment will increase the reputation of science in Germany and also show the profession of university teachers in a positive light outside of the academic environment.
“I congratulate Antje Boetius from the bottom of my heart,” said the Rector of the University of Bremen, Professor Jutta Günther. “We are proud to have such a dedicated and energetic scientist in Antje Boetius at the University of Bremen and the AWI. Her talent for conveying findings from polar and marine research to society at large is exemplary. Your enthusiasm for research and knowledge transfer is always a great inspiration for all of us.”
“I am extremely happy about this great recognition,” says Professor Antje Boetius. “Universities are very important to me as places where knowledge can be networked in a variety of ways, and teaching and knowledge transfer there in particular. When I meet students at the University of Bremen, I always have my finger on the pulse. Interest in the Earth system and the role of the ocean and ice in our future has grown enormously, even beyond the excellent marine research here. The responsibility of us teachers is high: coming generations need complex knowledge, hope and desire for the future for the transformation processes. The award is a great signal for that.”
Multiple award-winning and internationally networked scientist
The deep-sea researcher Antje Boetius is a professor of geomicrobiology in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Bremen and is also involved in the Cluster of Excellence MARUM at the University of Bremen. Since 2017 she has been director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen.
Antje Boetius has taken part in almost 50 expeditions on international research ships. Her current research focuses on the effects of climate change on the ocean and the diversity of life in the deep sea.
In 2009 Antje Boetius received the highly endowed Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. She is the recipient of the Communicator Prize of the DFG and the German Environmental Prize 2018 and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 2019.